“What we are watching, probably, is the slow death of The Tonight Show as an institution in the U.S. popular culture. It’s dying because NBC is killing it with a punch here and a stab in the back there. Of course, it’s perfectly possible that Jay Leno’s show will be a disaster, especially in the ratings, if a competing network has a hot drama airing at 10 on a weeknight. But NBC won’t let go of Leno’s show easily or quickly. For a start, rumour has it that Leno will walk away with tens of millions of dollars if the plug is pulled early.”